Wind turbine installation comprising an apparatus for protection of anchor bolts and method of installation

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for use in providing a level grout surface for placement of a wind turbine tower flange, the apparatus comprising a template member levelly suspended on the anchor bolts above the grout trough, wherein the template member comprises a surface to which grout will not adhere. The template member can comprise an upper layer and a lower grout engagement layer, wherein the grout engagement layer comprises a surface to which grout will not adhere. The upper layer can comprise a metallic layer, and the lower layer can comprise a plastic layer, wherein the upper layer and the lower layer are bonded together. The lower layer can comprise polypropylene. The means of bonding are selected from the group consisting of mechanical bonding, thermal bonding and chemical bonding. The grout can comprise an epoxy grout. The template member can be suspended through the use of magnetic nuts or the use of a rotating sleeve. The template member can comprise a plurality of sections, and can comprise a circular form.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/012,137filed on Jan. 30, 2008, which application claimed priority to U.S.Provision Application 60/898,452 filed on Jan. 30, 2007 and U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/905,399 filed on Mar. 5, 2007, for whichapplications this inventor claims domestic priority.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention generally relates to wind turbines, and anchoringdevices, such as bolts, which are used in the foundations of windturbines because of the high overturning moments to which wind turbinesare subjected. The invention more specifically relates to a plastic boltsleeve used in combination with a threaded anchor, where the plasticsleeve is plastically deformed or “crimped” onto a portion of thethreads of the bolt. The invention further discloses methods and devicesfor crimping the sleeve onto a portion of the bolt threads. Among otherbenefits, the crimped bolt sleeve protects the anchor bolts frommoisture and resulting corrosive attack and, when utilized with thedisclosed template member, allows for the use of high compressivestrength, low viscosity grouts, such as epoxy grout, to be used in theconstruction of the wind turbine foundation. The use of the templatemember obviates the need for a crane to place and level the foundationflange prior to the grout setting and before the grout has cured andreached its full strength. This results in less time spent rigging thecrane as the foundation flange may be set and the turbine tower placedin a single crane deployment.

The bolts used for anchoring wind turbines may either be set in concreteor drilled into the rock. The integrity of the foundation of a windturbine is subject to failure if the anchor bolts are not adequatelyprotected. In particular, anchors are subject to corrosive attack causedby the accumulation of water or other electrolytes in the anchoring holewhich results in the creation of a corrosion cell. As described below,the practices employed in preparing the foundation for a wind turbineoften create an environment in which the anchor bolt is exposed to wateror other liquid.

By way of background for wind turbine foundations, U.S. Pat. Nos.5,586,417 and 5,826,387, both by Henderson, disclose a pier foundation“which can be poured-on-site monolithically and is of cylindricalconstruction with many post-tensioned anchor bolts which maintain thepoured portion of the foundation under heavy compression, even duringperiods when the foundation may be subject to high overturning moment.”Henderson's foundation is preferably in the shape of a cylinder, havingan outer boundary shell and an inner boundary shell each formed ofcorrugated metal pipe which are set within an excavation.

In the fabrication of foundations for wind turbines, elongated highstrength steel bolts, generally fashioned from 1¼″ (#10) rebar materialor 1⅜″ (#11) rebar material are set within the foundation excavation andconcrete is poured into the excavation such that the bolts extendvertically up through the concrete from a peripheral anchor plate orring near the bottom of the cylinder to a peripheral connecting plate orflange at the base of the wind turbine tower. The bolts are typicallythreaded at the top and bottom ends for a length of approximately 24inches. The bolts are largely contained within hollow sleeves made ofPVC which prevent adhesion of the concrete to the bolts. The sleeves aretypically installed prior to delivery of the bolts to the job site, andnuts must be placed on each end of the anchor bolt to retain the PVCsleeve on the anchor bolt material.

Henderson further discloses the post-stressing of the concrete in greatcompression by tightening the high strength bolts to provide heavytension from the heavy top flange (i.e, the flange at the base of thewind turbine) through which the bolts pass to the anchor plate or ringat the bottom of the foundation, thereby placing the entire foundationfrom the heavy top plate or flange to the lower anchor plate or ringunder high unit compression loading. The nuts on the bolts are tightenedso as to apply tension to the bolts exceeding the maximum expectedoverturning force of the wind turbine tower structure on the foundation.Therefore, the entire foundation withstands various loads with theconcrete always in compression and the bolts always in static tension.Because the bolts are each largely contained within a PVC sleeve, eachbolt is free to move within its sleeve as the bolts are tensioned bytightening the nuts abutting the top flange. Steps are typically takenbefore the concrete is poured to seal the tops of the PVC sleeves toprevent the flow of concrete into the sleeves, such as wrapping ducttape around the tops of the sleeves. This can be a time-consumingprocess.

Based upon the discussion above, it is clear that the integrity of thistype of foundation is dependent upon the integrity of the anchorbolts—the failure of a bolt creates a stress riser on the remainingbolts, leading to the potential failure of the entire foundation. Theintegrity of the steel anchor bolts can be compromised by corrosiveattack. As described above, according to the current practice eachanchor bolt is enclosed for most of its length within a PVC sleeve.However, because the outside diameter of the PVC sleeve is too large forthe sleeve to enter the bolt hole of the flange of the tower structure,the sleeve typically terminates at approximately the top of the concretefoundation, with the bare metal of the anchor bolt extending above thesleeve, where the bolts extend through the flange and have a nut andbolt cap installed on the top side of the flange.

The tower flange is usually set on a grout base which overlies theconcrete foundation. The grout base is placed within a circular “grouttrough” which is formed by the pouring of the concrete foundation arounda circular template. This circular template is utilized to collectivelylift and place the anchor bolt assembly within the excavation preparedfor the foundation. As with the holes of the flange of the tower base,the bolt holes in the circular template are sized to accommodate thebolt diameter, but not the diameter of the PVC sleeve, so the tops ofthe bolt sleeves will generally be flush with the bottom of the grouttrough formed by the circular template.

In order to prevent dehydration of the grout—thus adversely impactingthe grout strength—it is a common practice to place water within thegrout trough prior to the pouring of the grout to keep the groutproperly hydrated during the curing process. However, water placed inthe trough will gravitate into the ends of the PVC sleeves which areflush with the bottom of the grout trough. In the current installationpractice, a foam sleeve is typically placed around a portion of eachbare bolt extending above the bottom of the grout trough, with each foamsleeve held in place with duct tape. The length (or height) of the foamsleeve is sized to extend above the anticipated thickness of the groutlayer within the grout trough. In the known practice, the tower flangeis set on the grout before the grout sets so that the tower base may beleveled. It is hoped that the foam sleeve will prevent grout fromadhering to the body of the bolt, such that when the grout fully curesthe bolt may be tensioned and slide through the foam sleeve withoutdamage to the grout. However, in reality the foam sleeve is likely sodeformed by the flange of the tower base that the bolts will not slidefreely through the sleeves once the grout cures.

In particular, the use of the template member would eliminate the needfor leveling shims and allow the grout to be poured and adequately curebefore setting the flange onto the grout, as opposed to the currentpractice of setting and leveling the tower flange before the groutcures. The current practice requires the service of a high capacitycrane for the initial setting of the tower flange and subsequently forthe assembly of the complete turbine. However, if the tower flange canbe placed at the same time as the other turbine tower components, only asingle use of the crane is required, resulting in less rigging up andrigging down time at each turbine tower installation.

Once the tower has been installed and a nut and bolt cap installed onthe bolt ends extending above the tower flange, the annulus between thebolt and PVC is sealed. However, during the known installation method,the annulus between the bolt and the PVC sleeve is open therebyproviding a pathway for water and other fluids to enter the annulus andbe trapped between the PVC sleeve and the metallic bolt, forming acorrosion cell. Because of this opening, steps are usually taken toprotect the bolt from corrosive attack and/or to seal the sleeve-boltannulus during installation. Unfortunately, the currently practicedinstallation procedure aggravates the situation, because, as describedabove, the procedure typically includes pouring water in the grouttrough to allow the grout to cure. This practice allows water toaccumulate at the top of the PVC sleeve, and potentially migrate intothe sleeve-bolt annulus.

The initial attempt at solving the anchor bolt corrosion problem was topaint the anchor bolts along the entire length. However, this solutionis labor intensive and does not prevent liquid accumulation around theanchors. In addition, this protection method requires that the anchorsbe repainted periodically, as well as after re-tensioning the anchor ifrequired in the particular application. The currently practiced methodof protecting the anchor bolts is to seal the annulus between the top ofthe PVC sleeve and the bolt with a sealant, such as a silicon gel.

As discussed above, the current practice also includes placing foam orother material around the portion of the bolt extending above the PVCsleeve, so as to prevent adhesion of the grout to the bolt and to blockthe migration of water into the sleeve-bolt annulus. Typically, foamcylinders with longitudinal slits are placed around the bolts, with ducttape wrapped around each cylinder, and the cylinder pushed downwardlyinto contact with the top of the PVC sleeve. However, with the largenumber of bolts utilized in these types of foundations, it is timeconsuming and difficult to seal the top of each PVC sleeve with sealantand to install the foam cylinders or similar devices. If hurried, theannulus may not be adequately sealed to prevent the intrusion of waterinto the PVC-bolt annulus. Moreover, once the tower base flange is setupon the foam cylinders, the cylinders are greatly deformed. It is notunlikely that when the anchor bolts are tensioned, the bolt does notslide through the foam cylinder, but that the deformed foam cylindermoves within the grout, potentially damaging the integrity of the grout.The PVC sleeves, because of the outside diameter, displace, in totality,a significant volume of concrete in the foundation, thereby reducing theoverall compressive strength of the foundation. Likewise, the use of thefoam cylinders around the anchor bolts in the grout trough displaces asignificant volume of grout, and thereby reduces the compressivestrength of the flange foundation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present application is directed toward a method and apparatus whichaddresses the problems identified above. In embodiments of the disclosedinvention, rather than utilizing PVC sleeves which terminate at thebottom of the grout trough, the present invention comprises anchor boltscomprising a sheath or sleeve which extends above the grout trough and,if desired, may partially extend inside the base flange of the windturbine base. The sleeve may be manufactured from polypropylene,polyethylene or other materials having satisfactory mechanicalproperties, primarily that the material be capable of withstandingsufficient plastic deformation to cause the material to conform to theshape of the threads of the anchor bolts without failing. The term“polypropylene” when used below, not only includes polypropylenematerials, but other plastic materials having mechanical propertieswhich allow those materials to be substituted for polypropylene. In thepresent application, each anchor bolt comprises a polypropylene sleevein which a portion of the sleeve is “swaged” onto a portion of thethreads of the bolt thereby creating a mechanical seal between theinterior of the sleeve and the threads of the bolt. For purposes ofdistinguishing the presently disclosed sleeve from the prior artsleeves, the presently disclosed sleeve is hereinafter referred to asthe “crimped sleeve”, although it is to be appreciated that only aportion of the sleeve actually comprises crimping or swaging.

The use of the polypropylene sleeve and the swaging of the sleeve onto aportion of the bolt threads accomplishes several improvements over theknown apparatus and methods. The bolt package (i.e. a bolt/sleevecombination) has an overall diameter less than the overall diameter ofthe currently utilized bolt-PVC sleeve combination. This reduceddiameter allows the bolt and crimped sleeve to extend through the boltholes of the circular template, and into the bolt holes of the towerflange, which under the known apparatus and method, only a sleevelessbolt would extend. Because the crimped sleeve extends above the top ofthe grout trough, the encased bolts will not be exposed to water placedwithin the grout trough. Moreover, because a seal is formed between thetop of the crimped sleeve and a portion of the threads of the bolt,access to the annulus between the bolt and the crimped sleeve is eithereliminated or substantially reduced, thereby preventing or greatlylimiting the axial migration of water or other electrolytes along thelength of the bolt. In addition, because the top of the crimped sleeveextends above the level of the grout, the crimped sleeve preventsadhesion of the grout to the bolt, thereby allowing the bolt to moverelative to the grout.

The disclosed apparatus provides a template member that comprises asurface to which grout will not adhere. The template member is suspendedby the anchor bolts, and is leveled across the grout trough. Once thetemplate member is leveled, either by the use of a laser level or aconventionally leveling means, grout is added to the space defined bythe template member and the grout trough. The grout may be introducinginto the trough through fill holes that extend through the templatemember. The grout is placed into the grout trough until the groutreaches the surface of the lower layer of the template member across theentirety of the grout trough. The template may then be removed and thegrout allowed to cure, or the template may be left in place atop thegrout until the grout has cured, depending upon the environmentalconditions present at the time.

The template member may comprise an upper layer and a lower layer, andthe lower layer comprises a surface to which grout will not adhere. Thelayers can be bonded together, and the bonding means can be thermal,chemical or mechanical bonding. The upper layer may comprise a metalliclayer. The lower layer may comprise a plastic layer, and the plasticlayer may comprise polyethylene.

The template member utilized in one embodiment of the disclosed devicemay be sectional, and can be placed sequentially around the grout troughand leveled. By placing the template member over the anchor bolts andthen leveling the template member, the top surface of the grout placedinto the area defined by the grout trough and the template member isthereby leveled. When the grout cures, the tower flange is installed ona level surface. No shims or blocks are required using this method toobtain a level foundation for the tower flange, as required in the knownmethod.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows the base of a wind turbine which might utilize embodimentsof the disclosed apparatus and method.

FIG. 2 shows a bolt assembly utilized for the foundation of a windturbine being lowered into an excavation for the foundation.

FIG. 3 shows a detailed view of a portion of the grout trough prior tothe placement of the tower base flange, showing the use of foam sleevesfor preventing adhesion of grout onto each bolt body, and the use of aspacer block for leveling the tower base.

FIG. 4 shows a front view of a portion of a tower foundation, with thetower base flange beginning to be lowered onto the anchor bolts.

FIG. 5 shows a cross section of a portion of the base flange, grout, andPVC sleeve of a prior art anchor bolt installation.

FIG. 6 shows a cross section of a portion of the base flange, grout, andsleeve of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 shows a portion of an embodiment of the disclosed crimped sleeve,showing how the sleeve is swaged around some of the threads of theanchor bolt.

FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of a device which may be utilized for swagingthe sleeve around the threads of the anchor bolt.

FIG. 9 shows the device of FIG. 8, showing how it is placed around ananchor bolt.

FIG. 10 shows a perspective side view of an embodiment of anotherswaging device which may utilized for swaging the sleeve around thethreads of the anchor bolt.

FIG. 11 shows a perspective front view of the swaging device of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 shows a front view of the swaging device of FIG. 10.

FIG. 13 shows a side vide of the swaging device of FIG. 10.

FIG. 14 shows a cross section of a portion of the foundation, grouttrough, template member and template member suspension means, prior toplacement of the grout.

FIG. 15 shows a cross section of a portion of the foundation, grouttrough, grout, template member and template member suspension means,following the placement of the grout.

FIG. 16 shows a cross section of a portion of the foundation, grouttrough, grout, template member and template member suspension means,following the placement of the grout.

FIG. 17 shows a cross sectional view of an anchor bolt, a crimpedsleeve, a suspension means and a portion of the template member.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS Prior Art Bolt ProtectionDevices

FIG. 1 generally depicts the base 10 of a wind turbine set upon afoundation 12. Base 10 comprises a flange 14, by which the base isattached to foundation 12 with anchor bolts 16. As shown in FIG. 1, theanchor bolts 16 may be placed in side-by-side pairs, the pairs extendingradially from the center of the foundation 12 forming an inner ring ofbolts and an outer ring of bolts. The bolt pattern is, of course,determined by the bolt pattern on the mounting flange 14. Each anchorbolt 16 has a corresponding nut 18 which is used to secure the base 10,and to apply tension to the bolt. The exposed portion of each bolt 16 isusually protected with a bolt cap 19.

A large number of anchor bolts 16 is typically used for this type offoundation. For example, Henderson discloses an embodiment havingforty-eight tensioning bolts in the inner ring and forty-eighttensioning bolts in the outer ring for a total of ninety-six. InHenderson's foundation, the lower ends of the bolts are anchored at thebottom of the foundation to a lower anchor ring which may be constructedof several circumferentially butted and joined sections. Although it isto be appreciated that other means may be employed for anchoring thebolts, including drilling a portion of the anchor bolt into the ground.

FIG. 2 depicts a bolt assembly 20 comprising a plurality of anchor bolts16 being lifted in preparation for being placed within a relatively deepexcavation prepared for construction of the foundation 12. The anchorbolts 16 typically used for wind turbines are approximately thirty feetin length, and usually have outside diameters of 1¼ inch or 1⅜ inch.Each anchor bolt 16 is partially enclosed within a “hollow tube” orsleeve 22. The sleeve is typically an elongated plastic tube fabricatedfrom polyvinyl chloride (“PVC”) which encases the bolt 16 substantiallythrough the entire vertical extent of the concrete and allows the boltto be tensioned after the concrete has hardened and cured, therebypost-tensioning the entire concrete foundation. The anchor bolts 16comprising bolt assembly 20 are secured at the end by circular template23, which is attached to a lifting assembly 24 and lifted by crane 26.

FIG. 3 shows a close view of a portion of the grout trough 28 beforegrout has been poured or base flange 14 has been placed. Grout trough 28is formed as follows: when the concrete is poured, circular template 23,which remains attached to lifting assembly 24 and held in place by crane26, holds the bolt assembly 20 in place. Concrete is poured up aroundcircular template 23, thereby forming an inner ring groove in the top ofthe foundation 12 known as the grout trough 28. Before grout 30 isplaced in grout trough 28, a sealing member 32 comprising foam, plasticor other material, is placed around each bolt 16. Sealing member 32 istypically cylindrical in shape, having a circular opening andlongitudinal slit cut through from the outside edge to the circularopening so the sealing member may be placed around each bolt 16. Thesealing member 32 often has duct tape wrapped around it to secure it tothe bolt 16. Also shown in FIG. 3 is a leveling block 5 which is used,in combination with a number of other leveling blocks contained withinthe grout trough, to properly level the base flange 14. It is to beappreciated that the placement of leveling block 5 immediately adjacentto sealing members 32, which is not an uncommon occurrence in the priorart installations, inhibits the uniform deformation of the sealingmembers as the base flange 14 is lowered into the grout trough 28,resulting in the non-uniform deformation discussed below.

FIG. 4 depicts a portion of a prior art foundation 12 after the grouthas been poured and cured, but before flange 14 has been set upon thefoundation 12 and nuts 18 made up onto bolts 16. As shown in FIG. 5,flange 14 will be set on top of the grout 30 contained within grouttrough 28.

FIG. 5 shows a cross section of a portion of the base flange 14, groutlayer 30, and sleeve 22 of a prior art anchor bolt installation for awind turbine, where sleeve 22 contains bolt 16. As shown in FIG. 5, thetop of sleeve 22 is generally flush with the bottom 34 of grout trough28. It is to be appreciated that before grout 30 is placed within grouttrough 28, the top of sleeve 22 is exposed to whatever liquids may enterthe grout trough, such as water which may be placed in the grout troughto provide for hydration of the grout. An annulus 36 is formed betweenbolt 16 and sleeve 22, which provides a potential path for water orother liquids, such as low viscosity grout, to travel along the lengthof bolt 16.

As can be seen in FIG. 5, sealing member 32 is substantially deformedonce engaged by base flange 14. It is to be appreciated that FIG. 4shows an idealized view of the deformed sealing member 32, in which thedeformation has been uniform. In actuality, it is expected that thedeformation will not be uniform because of, for example, obstructionswhich may inhibit uniform deformation such as the leveling block 5 shownin FIG. 3. It is also to be appreciated that the deformed sealing member32 displaces more volume than the non-deformed sealing member. Becauseeach bolt requires the sealing member, a typical installation may haveninety-six of the deformed sealing members 32 in the grout trough 28,thereby reducing the overall volume of grout which may be placed,resulting in a final grout pack with less strength than one having lessgrout displacement. It is also to be appreciated that once the grout 30sufficiently cures, tension will be applied to each anchor bolt 16 bythe tightening of a nut at the top of base flange 14, causing the boltto move relative to the grout. Ideally sealing member 32 would remainstationary, allowing bolt 16 to slide through the sealing member 32.However, deformation of sealing member 32 reduces the ease with whichanchor bolt 16 will slide through the sealing member 32, potentiallycausing sealing member 32 to also move, potentially damaging thesurrounding grout 30.

Embodiments of the Present Invention

FIG. 6 shows a cross section of a portion of the base flange 14, grout30′, and sleeve 38 of an embodiment of the present invention. Incontrast to the prior art shown in FIG. 4, it can be seen in FIG. 5 thatthe crimped sleeve 38 does not terminate at the bottom 34 of the grouttrough 28, but rather extends upwardly through the space in which grout30′ will be placed and partially penetrates the bolt hole 13 of baseflange 14. This feature prevents the top of crimped sleeve 38 from beingexposed to the liquids which may be placed within grout trough 28. Theuse of crimped sleeve 38 as the protective sleeve for bolt 16′ is asubstantial departure from the present use of PVC sleeve 22.

The critical distinction between the presently disclosed crimped sleevesfrom the prior art sleeves 22 is that the wall thickness of the crimpedsleeve 38 is substantially reduced, and the tolerance between theinternal diameter of the crimped sleeve 38 and the outer diameter of thebolt threads is substantially reduced, resulting in an external diameterof the crimped sleeve which is smaller than possible with thethicker-walled PVC sleeves, allowing the crimped sleeves to extend intothe bolt holes 13 of the base flange 14. For example, a crimped sleeve38 comprising polypropylene sleeves has a closer tolerance than theavailable PVC, such that the crimped sleeves 38 may have a clearance of20 thousands of an inch between the internal diameter of the crimpedsleeve 38 and the outer diameter of the anchor bolt threads. As shown inFIG. 6, this smaller outside diameter of the crimped sleeve 38 allows aportion of the sleeve to be disposed within the holes 13 in the baseflange 14 rather than terminating at the bottom 34 of the grout trough28 as shown in FIG. 5 for the prior art sleeves. The PVC tubes presentlyin use as sleeves do not extend into the base flange 14 of the windturbine. The diameters of bolt holes 13 for the base flanges 14 for windturbines are approximately 1½ inch, and the external diameters ofcommonly available PVC tubes which may be utilized as hollow tubes for1¼ inch to 1⅜ inch bolts are too large to be inserted within the holesof the flange.

As shown in FIG. 6, and in greater detail in FIG. 7, the top of thecrimped sleeve 38 is “swaged” such that a portion of the sleeve conformsto the threads of the anchor bolt 16′. The swaging serves severalpurposes. First, the swaging retains the crimped sleeve 38 on the anchorbolt 16′ such that nuts are not required to retain the sleeve on theanchor bolt during transportation. This characteristic allows the anchorbolts 16′ to be shipped without nuts, which reduces manpower requiredfor placing the nuts on the bolts for transportation and removing of thenuts from the bolts upon arrival.

The swaging further inhibits the flow of liquids into the annulusbetween the crimped sleeve 38 and the anchor bolt 16′, although it is tobe appreciated that the exposure of the sleeve end to liquid is reducedor eliminated, because of the capability of placing the top of thecrimped sleeve 38 within the base flange 14 rather than disposed at thebottom 34 of the grout trough 28. It has been found that swagingapproximately two inches of the top of the crimped sleeve 38 forms asufficient length of “crimps” 17 (i.e., portions of the crimped sleeve38 which conform to the shape of individual threads 21) to form aninterference fit which adequately inhibits liquid penetration into thesleeve-bolt annulus. It has been found that crimped sleeves 38comprising polypropylene, or similar materials, have the desiredmechanical properties for swaging the sleeve material such that itconforms to the shape of the threads. The mechanical properties of thepolypropylene are such that the material has a “memory” and retains thecrimps 17 once the swaging operation has been completed. It is also tobe appreciated that when the anchor bolts 16′ are tensioned by thetightening of the nuts 18, the mechanical properties of the sleevematerial are such that upon tensioning of the anchor bolt 16′, thematerial will plastically deform and the crimps 17 will relax and allowrelative movement of the anchor bolt with little resistance.

Also disclosed are swaging devices utilized in forming the crimpedsleeves 38. FIGS. 8 and 9 show a die assembly 40 which may be utilizedeither with bolts 48 or with a hydraulic press to create the crimping ofthe crimped sleeve 38. Die assembly 40 comprises two sides, wherein eachside comprises a thread profile 46 which matches the thread profile ofthe anchor bolt 16′. Compressing each side of the die assembly against asleeve encased anchor bolt causes the crimped sleeve 38 to conform tothe thread profile of the anchor bolt 16′.

FIGS. 10 through 13 show another embodiment of a swaging tool 50. Thistool 50 comprises a swaging end 56 and a threaded end 54, which define alongitudinal axis L, wherein the longitudinal axis is at the center ofthe tool. The swaging tool 50 comprises an opening coinciding with thelongitudinal axis L, and the threaded end comprises internal threads 52which match the threads of the anchor bolt 16′. The swaging end 56comprises a plurality of rollers 58 a, 58 b, 58 c, 58 d, 58 e and 58 f,each roller having the same diameter. Rollers 58 a, 58 b, 58 c, 58 d, 58e and 58 f are arranged at different points along the length of thelongitudinal axis L and have different radial distances from thelongitudinal axis. Rollers 58 a through 58 f are attached to the swagingend with fasteners 60, such as bolts or screws.

The rollers 58 a through 58 f are disposed within the tool 50 to followthe threads 21 of an anchor bolt 16′, compressing the sleeve into thethreads to create the crimps 17. The rollers are disposed such that thecenter of each roller is a different radial distance from thelongitudinal axis L. It is to be appreciated that a different swagingtool 50 may be fashioned for each bolt diameter and thread type,including right-handed and left-handed threads.

By way of example only, for a tool having an overall radius of 2.0inches, an inside diameter of 0.680 inches, and individual rollerdiameters of 1.250 inches, the centers of the rollers may have thefollowing radial distances from the longitudinal axis L:

roller 58 a: 1.391 inches

roller 58 b: 1.415 inches

roller 58 c: 1.295 inches

roller 58 d: 1.319 inches

roller 58 e: 1.343 inches

roller 58 f: 1.367 inches

Swaging tool 50, which may comprise suitable material such as 1080steel, is made up on at the end of a sleeve-encased anchor bolt, withthe swaging end 56 made up first. As swaging tool 50 is screwed onto thethreads, the bolt will ultimately engage internal threads 52, whichassist in guiding the tool. Once the swaging tool reaches thepolypropylene sleeve, roller 58 f will be the first roller to engage thesleeve, followed by 58 e, etc., the rollers compressing the sleeve intothe threads 21. The swaging tool 50 may be attached to both power toolsand hand tools.

FIGS. 14 through 16 show the use of the template member 62. In FIG. 14the template member 62 is leveled above the grout trough 28, prior tothe placement of the grout 30′. The grout 30′ will be added to the spacedefined by the template member 62 and the grout trough 28 through fillholes 70. The template member 62 comprises a surface which the grout 30′will contact but to which the grout 30′ will not adhere. The templatemember 62 may be comprised of an upper metallic layer 64 and a lowerlayer 66, wherein the lower layer 66 comprises a surface to which groutwill not adhere. The lower layer 66 contacts the grout 30′. Thenon-grout adhering properties of the template member ensure that thegrout will not stick to the template and cause a rough grout surface.Additionally, the propensity for the grout to “flash” or cure unevenlymay be reduced. The upper metallic layer 64 and lower layer 66 may bebonded together through thermal, mechanical or chemical bonding. Thegrout is added to the grout trough 28 through fill holes 70 in thetemplate member 62. The template member 62 is held above the grouttrough 28 through the use of suspension means 68. The suspension means68 are used to retain the placement of the template member 62 once thetemplate member 62 has been leveled. The suspension means 68 may be nutsthat are made up onto the anchor bolts 16′ and are magnetically attachedto the upper metallic layer 64 of the template member 62. In FIGS. 15and 16 the grout 30′ has been placed into the grout trough 28 of thefoundation 12 through a fill hole 70 that transverses the templatemember 62.

FIG. 17 shows a cross sectional view of a portion of the template member62, an anchor bolt 16′ and a rotating sleeve 72 as the suspension means.The rotating sleeve 72 is made up onto the anchor bolt 16′ and suspendsand supports the template member 62. The upper layer 64 and the lowerlayer 66 are also shown. The anchor bolt 16′ extends downward throughthe foundation and upwards through the template member 62, and will beused to retain and support the wind turbine tower flange. The crimpedsleeve protects the anchor bolt 16′ from corrosion caused by contactwith water or other electrolytes.

While the above is a description of various embodiments of the presentinvention, further modifications may be employed without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the present invention. For example, the size,shape, and/or material of the various components may be changed asdesired. Thus the scope of the invention should not be limited by thespecific structures disclosed.

1. An apparatus for use in providing a level grout surface for placementof a wind turbine tower flange wherein the wind tower flange supportsand stabilizes a wind turbine tower, the wind turbine tower flangeinstalled on a foundation comprising a concrete base, a grout troughformed in the cement base for the placement of a grout used to supportthe wind turbine flange, and a plurality of upwardly disposed anchorbolts extending through the grout, wherein the anchor bolts retain andsupport the wind turbine flange, the apparatus comprising: a templatemember levelly suspended on the anchor bolts above the grout trough,wherein said template member comprises a surface to which grout will notadhere.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said template membercomprises an upper layer and a lower grout engagement layer, whereinsaid grout engagement layer comprises said surface to which grout willnot adhere.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein said upper layercomprises a metallic layer, and said lower layer comprises a plasticlayer, wherein the upper layer and the lower layer are bonded togetherby a bonding means.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the lower layeris polypropylene.
 5. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein the bonding meansare selected from the group consisting of mechanical bonding, thermalbonding and chemical bonding.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein thegrout is an epoxy grout.
 7. The apparatus of claim 3 wherein thetemplate member is suspended by one or more nuts made up on respectiveanchor bolts, the bottom of each nut comprising a magnetic substancewhich adheres to the metallic surface.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1wherein the template member is suspended through the use of one or morerotating sleeves made up on the respective anchor bolts, wherein saidsleeve extends through said template member, said sleeve furthercomprising a support member, said support member in rotatable engagementwith said template member.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein thetemplate member comprises a plurality of sections.
 10. The apparatus ofclaim 1 wherein the template member comprises a circular form.
 11. Anapparatus for use in leveling a wind turbine tower flange installed on afoundation comprising a plurality of upwardly disposed anchor bolts, theapparatus comprising: a template member and a plurality of anchor boltengagement means, the anchor bolt engagement means comprising a meansfor leveling said template member relative to the anchor bolts.
 12. Theapparatus of claim 11 wherein the anchor bolt engagement means are oneor more nuts made up on respective anchor bolts, the bottom of each nutcomprising a magnetic substance which adheres to the metallic surface.13. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the anchor bolt engagement meansare one or more rotating sleeves made up on the respective anchor bolts,wherein said sleeve extends through said template member, said sleevefurther comprising a support member, said support member in rotatableengagement with said template member.
 14. The apparatus of claim 11wherein the template member comprises a plurality of sections.
 15. Amethod for levelly installing a wind turbine tower onto a wind turbinefoundation, the method comprising the steps of: installing an anchorbolt assembly using a circular template to lift said anchor boltassembly and place said anchor bolt assembly into an excavation andpouring concrete to form a foundation; removing said circular templatefrom the foundation thereby creating a grout trough; suspending atemplate member above said grout trough using suspension means attachedto said anchor bolts; leveling said template member; introducing a groutinto the space defined by said template member and said grout trough andallowing said grout to cure; removing said template member; andinstalling the wind turbine flange.
 16. The method of claim 15 whereinsaid template member comprises an upper metallic layer and a lower layerto which grout will not adhere.
 17. The method of claim 15 wherein saidgrout comprises an epoxy grout.
 18. The method of claim 16 wherein saidsuspension means are one or more nuts made up on respective anchorbolts, the bottom of each nut comprising a magnetic substance whichadheres to the metallic surface.
 19. The method of claim 15 wherein saidsuspension means are one or more rotating sleeves made up on therespective anchor bolts, wherein said sleeve extends through saidtemplate member, said sleeve further comprising a support member, saidsupport member in rotatable engagement with said template member.